NEW YORK - J.P. Morgan announced the launch of Total SettlementSM, an electronic payment solution that helps businesses simplify the payment of supplier invoices and lay the foundation for complete order-to-pay automation. Total Settlement consolidates Automated Clearing House (ACH), commercial card, wire, and standard paper check payments in a single file, eliminating the extra effort in accounts payable involved with processing multiple payment types. A self-service web portal for suppliers provides valuable payment status information, remittance details and allows suppliers to maintain their own contact and payment-related information.

With Total Settlement, organizations can streamline payment processing with more than 75,000 suppliers in the J.P. Morgan Business Settlement Network, with little to no enrollment effort. The J.P. Morgan Supplier Services team can provide valuable assistance to recruit new suppliers into the network and expand the value of any check-to-electronic payment initiative.

“J.P. Morgan’s Total Settlement is an ideal solution for organizations looking to eliminate paper from their treasury operations and automate their entire accounts payable operations in a phased approach,” said David Peraino, Order-to-Pay Product Executive, J.P. Morgan Treasury Services. “By focusing on payments as a first step, clients can target an area ripe for productivity improvement while taking advantage of incentives to ramp up their commercial card programs. Organizations can then expand into electronic invoicing and early payment discount programs to drive substantial additional cost savings and optimize their working capital.”

Other advantages of Total Settlement include:

* Strengthened supplier relations - The combination of a supplier portal and electronic payments with delivery of detailed remittance information virtually eliminates payment status phone calls to accounts payable while allowing suppliers to improve cash flow forecasting.
* Improved fraud protection - Digital signatures help ensure that only authorized payments are processed, and high-dollar payments can be routed for a second signature or security audit review. The self-service supplier portal enables vendors to maintain accurate contact and banking information. Payment level controls are utilized for card based settlement.
* Low overhead costs - As there is no software to install with Total Settlement, J.P. Morgan’s on-demand delivery model speeds deployment and eliminates maintenance to lower total cost of ownership. Through a simple Web portal, buyers can quickly extend their existing ERP and legacy applications with minimal Information Technology (IT) involvement.
* Easy expansion options - Total Settlement provides for a single connectivity engine that facilitates product growth.

Total Settlement is part of J.P. Morgan Order-to-Pay, an on-demand service that connects buyers with their suppliers across a secure settlement network to automate purchase order delivery, invoice and payment processing, and discount management. J.P. Morgan combines the best of feature functionality, services and a shared supplier network to lower operating costs, improve compliance, and better manage working capital. According to Forrester Research’s report The Forrester Wave™: AP-EIPP, Q2 2008, J.P. Morgan’s Order-to-Pay service was named a market leader in solutions that streamline the invoice-to-pay process.

About J.P. Morgan Treasury Services
The Treasury Services business of J.P. Morgan is a top-ranked, full-service provider of innovative payment, collection, liquidity management, trade finance, commercial card and information solutions to corporations, financial services institutions, middle market companies, small businesses, governments and municipalities worldwide. With more than 50,000 clients and a presence in 39 countries, J.P. Morgan Treasury Services (JPM TS) is one of the world’s largest provider of treasury management services. JPM TS is a division of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., member FDIC. More information can be found at www.jpmorgan.com/ts.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.0 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan, Chase, and WaMu brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.